Here’s how the super rich buy mega-yachts

The buyers showing up at the Monaco Yacht Show each year have so much money to spend on yachts that it’s almost absurd.

First, a bit of background information: the Monaco Yacht Show is one of the biggest superyacht shows in the world. This year, there will be 125 yachts on display – 46 of which will be superyachts. There are also several other exhibitions for luxury yacht accessories.

We spoke with Laurence Shukor, a team member at the five-star Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo, who helps set up buyers with a personal yacht shopper for the show. Shukor shared with us the inside scoop on how the super wealthy secure the right superyacht:

The Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo runs a program called the Sapphire Experience where those in town can book a room that comes with a personal buyer from the yacht show. Below you see the five-star hotel’s decadent lobby.

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Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

How much you spend for the Sapphire Experience depends on the kind of room you stay in. The Junior Suite Prestige, pictured here, costs $5,243 for two nights with the Sapphire Experience.

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Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

But a more luxury suite, like the Suite Azur, will go as high as $12,781 for two nights with the personal buyer.

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Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

The Suite Azur takes up the ground floor of the hotel and comes with four separate interconnecting rooms: a living room, bedroom, walk-in closet, and bathroom.

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Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

The hotel itself is worth marveling at for a second. In addition to suites taking up the entire floor, it also has a pool …

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Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

A spa …

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Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

A cabana …

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Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

… And sweeping views of the ocean.

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Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

Now onto the Monaco Yacht Show itself. This year, it will have 34,500 people attending. The 125 yachts have a net worth of $3 billion.

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Reuters/Eric Gaillard

Shukor said the personal concierge will work entirely on the buyer’s schedule. “We know for a fact that people who can afford yachts, you have to be at their disposal and not the opposite,” she said. “If the client says, ‘I’ll arrive on the 28th of September at 11pm in the evening, I would like you to come and I’ll give you the information,’ the concierge will come.”

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Reuters/Eric Gaillard

Yachts are priced based on the length of the ship, but manufacturers don’t typically give a rough estimate because the price changes based on the buyer’s customization requests. Shukor said luxury yachts at the Monaco Yacht Show start at a price of $1 million per meter (3 feet), with some costing as much as $78 million all in.

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Reuters/Eric Gaillard

But $1 million per meter is just a starting point. Here you see the Galactica Super Nova yacht by luxury yacht manufacturer Heesen. The 70-meter (230-foot) ship will cost roughly $13 million per meter (3 feet).

Here’s a glimpse of the Galactica Super Nova’s interior. The yacht also has an infinity pool, waterfall, and enough deck space for a helipad.

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Heesen Yachts

The clients can be demanding about what they want. For example, one client this year told a personal shopper that he wanted a separate room for his skis so “he could come to the Mediterranean and [go] jet skiing and during the winter times… take a helicopter and go skiing on the slopes,” Shukor said. “So sometimes they have requests that are very, very, peculiar.”

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Monaco Yacht Show

Shukor said most of the buyers attending the Monaco Yacht Show are from Russia, but there are also people hailing from the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States.

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Reuters/Eric Gaillard

“In terms of age, it can vary, but it’s not younger than 40-years-old because, obviously, not everyone can spend that amount of money on a boat,” Shukor said. “There are more men than women.”

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Reuters/Eric Gaillard

Those part of the Sapphire Experience also get access to VIP parties. Shukor attended a VIP party last year that was hosted by superyacht manufacturer Heesen Yachts.

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Monaco Yacht Show

Some big names can be spotted at these VIP parties. Shukor said when she attended the party last year she saw Albert II, the Prince of Monaco, pictured below, in attendance.

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Reuters/Eric Gaillard

The Monaco Yacht Show runs September 28 to October 1. If you happen to be in the area and want to attend, you can get a day pass for $168. Just make sure you have that extra few million on hand if you want to buy anything.